It is always puzzling to hear about an abandoned car dealership with brand new cars left for decades. There are several reasons it happens, but you have to wonder why they don’t sell the cars at some point. In the case of the Toyotas you see here, they were left behind for political reasons. The dealership, along with luxury hotels and an airport are sealed off from the world. Before Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus in 1974, Varosha was a thriving city and a one of the world’s most glamorous tourist destinations. Everyone fled when fighting broke out and people had to leave everything behind. The area was closed to the Greek Cypriot residents after the war. The Varosha neighborhood still remains sealed off, heavily guarded and rotting away after forty years. It was the prime tourist area, with the best beaches, tourist hotels, shops, restaurants and mansions. Everything is still as it was left all those years ago, albeit in worst condition.
This Toyota dealership was sealed off with all the rest of Varosha. It has sat untouched for all these years full of new cars from the 1970s. Photographers risked their freedom sneaking in to take these pictures. There has a lot of debate as to whether these cars are still here as there are accounts of vandalism and looting throughout the city. There aren’t many recent accounts of the dealership, but those that have been inside claim the cars are still there and in the same condition they were in in 1974 when everyone fled the city. There are many articles out there on the abandoned city of Varosha (find more info here on Urban Ghosts), with a wide range of opinions on what happened in this city and why. We won’t go into the politics of this situation, but we do hope that one day the city will be opened back up so that these cars can possibly be saved! Whether it will ever happen or if these cars will still even exist by that time, we don’t know, but it would be amazing to see this collection!
The Nicosia International Airport, once the major airport in Cyprus, also sits abandoned. There are even a couple airliners, a 727 and a 747 still parked at the airport.
Photos Courtesy of Motor-Talk.de
My mom and her family grew up in Cyprus. I was fortunate to visit in 1962 at age 11. What a wonderful place. The rest of the family immigrated to the US when the fighting broke out in 64. My grandparents were never really happy coming here. They left everything behind. Beautiful island and lifestyle ruined by fighting.
I can feel your mom and her family pain. I was there as well and myself also fled to the US (I’m from Silikou). I lost my older brother and other family members. It still hunt me to this day and I get horrible flashback. I’m finally going back. It’s not going to be easy but I have to face it one of these days. I remember visiting that Toyota dealership. I wish they can rebuild it and turn that into a Museum along with Nicosia International Airport (remove the landmines first).
I had a discussion about this dealership with some cousins that came to visit from Cyprus about a month ago. Seems as if there were some interested parties trying to get these cars. Because they are located in “no mans land” nobody has the rights to them. According to them the cars are still there.
There are many fascinating abandoned places in Cyprus but one of the airports shots is from Toussaint Louverture airport in Port au Prince (Haiti).
And the 42 years old Olympic Airways B747 was shooted in the closed Ellenikon Airport in Athens (Greece)
I’ve been there and while it is sealed off there are obvious signs of entry into the area. I would have entered the area apart from the fact the sign says the area is mined!
I was walking in the area and found a small house identical to others in a suburban street that is now the Museum for Atrocities.
There was nobody about so I entered and the house has displays in the rooms of attrocities during the fighting, with photos and newspaper cuttings.
I went into the bathroom not expecting what I would find and it has been left exactly as it was after the family were murdered in this very house and dumped in the bath.
In the seperate toilet room there was still part of a skull and hair in the toilet bowl.
I left the house feeling nauseous – I still shiver thinking about it.
I have visited both sides of the divided island and the people are friendly on both sides, the Turkish is less built up with few high rise buildings, although on my last visit they had just decided to allow gambling.
The vandalism that can be seen in some of the pictures, is reportedly by soldiers in the area. As usual with human nature, it is easier to break something than make something. It would be fantastic to be allowed access to this area, who knows what’s hiding behind garage doors in no man’s land?
There are no boeings at Nicosia international airport! There is one Trident 2 which was damaged when the fighting broke out and an Avro Shackton which was abandoned before the fighting. The 747 photo is not Nicosia.
Yes, a mistake. Former Olympic Boeings 727 / 737 / 747 are left at abandoned airport in Athens. Only one smaller aircraft remained at Nicosia